Compare a set amount for each hour at home with the costs you can show. The tax saved is smaller than the claim.
The ATO fixed-rate page lists 70 cents an hour for 2024–25 and 2025–26. It does not print a separate 2026–27 line. This estimate uses 70 cents, the latest rate on that page. Rates last checked 22 October 2026.
2 Result
The larger claim is about $500. It saves about $160 in tax.
Fixed rate$280
Costs you can show$500
Tax saved$160
See the detailed breakdown
Actual costs are the larger deduction on these figures.
Fixed rate, 70c an hour
$280.00
Tax saved by the fixed rate
$89.60
Costs you can show
$500.00
Tax saved by those costs
$160.00
The tax saved is the drop in a resident’s income tax, low income tax offset and usual Medicare levy. It is not a refund of the whole claim. You claim one method, not both.
Rates last checked 22 October 2026. The ATO page lists 70 cents for 2024–25 and 2025–26 and does not print a separate 2026–27 line. 70 cents is the latest rate on that page.
Questions
Can I claim both methods?
No. You choose the fixed rate or actual costs for the running expenses the fixed rate covers. You keep a record of the hours either way. Decline in value of equipment is separate from the fixed rate, and you would include it in the actual-cost figure on this page if you want it in that comparison.
Is 70 cents confirmed for 2026–27?
Not as its own line. The ATO page, checked on 22 October 2026, lists 70 cents for 2024–25 and 2025–26. Practical Compliance Guideline 2023/1 has not been replaced with a different rate on that page. This calculator uses 70 cents and says so.
What does the tax saving mean?
It is the difference in a resident’s 2026–27 assessment if taxable income falls by the deduction. The assessment here is income tax, less the low income tax offset, plus the standard Medicare levy. There is no study loan and no Medicare levy surcharge.
Sources
ATO, fixed rate method. 70 cents is printed for 2024–25 and 2025–26, not as a 2026–27 line.